1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a gymnastic machine usable for muscular training, having a load group which has a high capacity to absorb power, and limited overall dimensions. In particular, the present invention relates to a gymnastic machine usable for muscular training, having a load group which has a high capacity to absorb power and limited overall dimensions, and is finely adjustable.
2. Description of the State of the Art
In the sector of gymnastic machines, the use is known of load groups of a gravitational nature, normally of an additive nature, by means of packs of blocks or groups of plates, though which to define the resistance to be opposed to the execution of a gymnastic exercise by a user.
The need to finely regulate the value of the mechanical resistance to be used has led some manufacturers of gymnastic machines to use load groups of pneumatic type, as for example the Italian company Air Machine, or to use loads consisting of containers fillable at will with determinate quantities of liquid. However, it is as well to state that pneumatic load groups and loads including containers fillable with determinate quantities of liquids have disadvantages which make their use not particularly agreeable in the environments in which gymnastic activity on gymnastic machines is performed professionally, as for example in the gymnasiums of so-called fitness centers, or in the gymnasiums of sports clubs.
In machines of pneumatic type, the implements are connected mechanically to pneumatic actuators which are therefore supplied by pumps of the same type. For this reason, besides the need of positioning such machines adjacent to a suitable source of electrical supply, it is as well to point out that the maintenance of these machines must be performed exclusively by experts, and therefore entails considerable expense. Furthermore, such machines are particularly noisy because of the continual alternation of pressurization and air release through the valves of the actuators themselves. Finally, the sensations at the implement are particularly far from those which users can feel when lifting a weight, and for this reason also such machines have a market limited solely to biomedical environments, in which gymnastic exercise is more a duty than a pleasure.
The load sensation which is felt when using continuously variable gravitational loads, on the other hand, is good, as in the case of machines in which the load is produced by containers fillable with variable quantities of fluid definable at will. In such cases, however, there is a fundamental need to have water available, with the aggravating factor that if the water-seals in the water filling and discharging circuit are not perfect, leakages of water can occur which, besides making the adjustment and use of the machine difficult, can create problems of stability for users who are training in the areas around the machine. Furthermore, the noisiness of the filling and emptying devices for the containers is well-known, as is the waiting time which every user of these machines must undergo with every change in the mass of liquid to be used for training. Obviously, machines with load groups including containers fillable with various quantities of liquid, and water in particular, are particularly bulky and heavy, unless the machine is connected to the water supply, which enormously restricts the possibility of locating these machines in a gymnasium or a private dwelling.
Others have designed gymnastic machines in which the resistive load is produced by springs. However, none of the prior art researched in this sector seems to provide interesting teachings for the objectives of the applicant. In fact, even considering a particularly interesting document, U.S. Pat. No. 5,637,062 in particular, the teaching we receive is to use a combination of an elastic load and an eccentric wheel which produces an increase in the extension of the springs as the exercise proceeds, in complete contrast with the requirements of the applicant.
By virtue of what has been described above, the problems of having gymnastic machines which are at the same time independent of electricity and water supply networks, and compact and noiseless, and which offer structurally the possibility of finely adjusting the training load, is at present unresolved, and represents an interesting challenge for the applicant, who has decided to tackle and resolve it, as will be described below, in order to exploit it economically.
In view of the situation described above, it would be desirable to provide a gymnastic machine having a load group which, besides limiting the disadvantages, typical of the state of the known art set forth above, and if possible overcoming them, could define a new standard in this sector of the market. Consequently, such a gymnastic machine would prove to be suitable for installation in either a biomedical, or a sporting, or a domestic environment, and therefore in any environment in which gymnastic machines have applications.